Cárimuá Eaás
(Cárimuá Eaás, Styrásh for "Protector of Life's
Circle",
ca. 1011-748 b.S.) was the first Ránn of the
Quaelhoirhim,
uniting the Eastern and Western forests, after the splitting of the tribe in
about 1000 b.S.

Until her 'crowning' settlements within the Eastern and Western
Zeiphyr,
while recognizing a certain shared origin and a need to cooperate, were seperate
war entities. This meant that during the first part of the war the
Quaelhoirhim
suffered several heavy defeats, culminating in the annihilation of the
Zeiphyr in
806 b.S. Hailing from the Eastern forest, the daughter of, it is said a
Kaierian Warrior, Cárimuá first rose to
power in Salóh,
which she fortified in the run up to the war. She led the fight for a peaceful
solution to the war and fought dogmatically with the Ránn
of the Western forest, Cár'ámn Kardalá, over plans to assassinate
Gorm, pleading with Elving not to send an
assasin. As it became clear that the humans
were preparing for war on a scale never before seen,
the newly fortified Salóh
became the focus of the
Quaelhoirhim
and elven defence and Cárimuá
became the figurehead of that resistance as the first Ránn
of a centralised
Quaelhoirhim
government.

Cárimuá was also responsible for forming theHigh Elven Circle, an alliance
of elven tribes. Many therefore consider her
the first Ava'ránn of the elven people, though she was never officially
named such.

Cárimuá was assassinated in about 750b.S. Stories abound as to who was responsible, but no conclusive proof
has ever been provided. The truth is that Cárimuá made many powerful enemies and
that any one of three groups could have murdered her for their own political
gains.

Image description:Cárimuá Eaás,famous
founderof the
centralised government of the Quaelhoirhim
and creator of the High Elven Circle.
Picture drawn byEritinalinfalah.

Appearance.
Cárimua was reportedly unlike the typical
Quaelhoirhimelf of today, with their typically golden or
olive skin, but then the Zeiphyr
is a very different place today. In the times before the First Sarvonian War the
Eastern forest, where Cárimuá was born, which to this day retains a certain
distinctive identity, was very heavily influenced by the
Tethinrhim and many of those living
there were of Tethinrhim parentage.
While that influence has significantly diminished in the interveining centuries,
there is still a significant proportion of elves
born to the eastern forest with red hair.

So it was, according to elven spoken lore, with
Cárimuá. It is reported by most sources that her mother was from the
Tethinrhim tribe and as such she is
often represented such, with long, red, flaming hair, pale complexion and green
eyes. The statue of her in Salóh's town
square, built sometime before the ascension of Santhros,
also potrays her as slightly taller than the
Quaelhoirhim average and of a
more slightly muscular built, as is the case with the
Tethinrhim.

However, very few sources remain that are contemporary with the period, so these
assumptions are far from certain. Those contemporary sources that have survived
unchanged are generally elven and simply
characteristics of appaerance, for most of the tribes of the region,
Quaelhoirhim included, kept
scatty and sporadic written records, nowhere near as useful as those of the
Aellenrhim! For example, a scribe
to the Ahrhim Rónn who she approached
for an alliance early in her career, noted 'a strength of soul'. As the word
"soul" in Styrásh can be
interpreted several different ways, including the meanings "energy" and "life
force", it is difficult to grasp exact meaning. However, most scholars -
especially we elves among them - tend to feel
that the scribe makes reference to a force of presence, a certain charisma and
dynamic personaltiy that others felt before she spoke.

Biography.
The life of Cárimuá Eáás can be summarized in detail as follows:

Background, Birth and early Life. Cárimuá is said
to have been born in ca. 1011 b.S. This is a consensus date, a sort of median
value from those that have been thrown around by scholars past and present. It
is essentially based on the principle that she must have been over the age of
elven maturity when becoming Ránn, and that the
Quaelhoirhim were so surprised
and grief striken at her unnatural death indicates that she was more than likely
still very young by elven terms at her death.
Certainly her children were in infancy when she died, and it is told that she
neither out lived their mother by more than six months, but that is a different
tragic story.

Some tales tell that her mother was a
Tethinrhim elf of the Auturian Woods,
and a
Kaierian Warrior of the
highest rank. Her father, it is said was a 'pure'
Quaelhoirhim elf, as those of the
Western forest called themselves at that time. Nothing is recorded about them
other than the fact that their relationship would have been frowned upon.

The Zeiphyr was twin forests -
with the Western forest being far more extensive than it is today - had been
traditionally home to the
Quaelhoirhim tribe, with one Ránn, although she essentially excerted little
or no power over what were mainly self governing communities, settlements and
regions that lay outside of Elving's city
walls.

The
Quaelhoirhim's nearest neighbours were the
Tethinrhim, organised with, unusual
among elves, a hereditary monarchy system.
Their influence, genes and their beliefs spread into the Eastern forest of the
Zeiphyr and to the rapidly
expanding city of Salóh, much to the dislike
and the horror of the Elvingelves, who saw this as an indirect invasion of
their territory. Thus in 1000 b.S. when the Ránn tried to take control of
Salóh and at the Eastern forest there was a
civil disturbance, the Eastern forest declared itself part of the
Tethinrhim, and closed its tunnels
that led to Elving. This caused yet
disturbance in Salóh - who still considered
themselves to some extent
Quaelhoirhim and also disliked intensly the idea of hereditary monarchy,
dismissing it as a human failing - and then as
their own tribe with their own Ránn. Though they kept the
Quaelhoirhim mantle, calling themselves the Quaelhoirhim'uchrá ("East-Quaelhoirhim").

For a Western forester to marry a
Tethinrhim, who many in Elving blamed for
the tribal split, would have been unthinkable. No wonder the couple took refuge
in the Eastern forest where both tribes were part of the cultural identity of
the community. It was unlikely they lived within
Salóh itself, far more likely that Cárimuá grew up in the many forest
settlements around the city and moved there when she became mature enough to
look after herself.

Even though elves have the longest of memories,
little is known of Cárimuá's early life; indeed it is uncertain whether Cárimuá
Eaás was actually her birth name. In
Styrásh it means "Protector of Life's Circle", but also denotes one of very
high status, a Ránn perhaps, more often an Avá'ránn. Many
elven documents apply the term in its masculine
form to Santhros who is held in much esteem by the
elves. It is possible of course that the title
had no such meaning at that time and was adopted in note of her later
achievements, for certainly they were great, but it is also possible that she
was well aware of the meaning and adopted it for herself. There is little doubt
that she had a hand for self propoganda as we shall see later, and naming
herself such may have given her a upperhand in the "pyschological warfare" that
accompanied physical violence. Some elves note
that the term may have been a Maeverhim
or Cyrathrhim one, for certainly it
suits both tribes' philosophies well that Cárimuá utilised it and changed its
meaning in the doing so. In this respect it is more likely that it was
Maeverhim in origin given that there
appears from Aellenrhim accounts
that the
Quaelhoirhim made contact with the
Cyrathrhim no earlier than 600 b.S.

So if Cáromuá adopted the name, what might she have been called originally?
There is a mention in the
Quaelhoirhim Tomes of an advisor to the first (and effectively only) Ránn of
the Quaelhoirhim'uchrá, Faúr'erián (lit. "Seven Sense" - probably eluding to the
fact that the elf had inherited the
Oh'mód'hál).
This advisor is recorded as: Aiá Vaí (lit. "Further Sight") Daughter of Arneá
[who is] a warrior of the Auturians,
Helper and favourite of the Ránn Faúr'erián.

It is thouroughly tempting to speculate that this is Cárimuá, a glimpse into the
earlier life of a figure who we esentially know nothing about until she rose to
take power over Salóh and the
Quealhoirhim'uchrá in about 880 b.S.

Cárimuá the Ránn. Only a few years prior to 880 b.S
does Cárimuá begin to surface, in documents, her seal - a white hind - emerges.
Quite how Cárimuá became Ránn of the Eastern forest is uncertain. The most
popular folk tale tells that Faúr'erián had a dream of the war that was to come
and sensed that she did not have the skills to navigate her people independently
through it, that she would have to bow to the
Quaelhoirhim on one side or the
Tethinrhim on the other for help, forfitting their independence. So
Faúr'erián stepped aside and handed the leadership to Cárimuá . Such tales can
never be fully substantiated, as there is nothing but word of mouth to back them
up. Certainly in Ylfferhim lore and
that of the more westerly forests, Cárimuá's ascent was rather more agressive.

"She took all that she had learnt from the then Ránn of the Quealhoirhim'uchrá
and realised that if war was to come, she who was wise, and also of great age,
would not make ready her people - for never had a war with the
humans been faced. And she put all that she
had learnt from her queen, and all that she had learnt from
humans, against her. And she did it with a
mind as clear as the waters of Ephrin's
Lake. The Lady was as thorough and emotionless about her predesessors
dispatchment as one would expect of the child of a
Kaieran!'"

Perhaps dispatched was the wrong word for me to choose - there is no suggestion
of violence being used in the Ylfferhim
lore. But the idea of unseating a Ránn, one who is usually judged wisest amongst
your tribe is unsettling to the elven mindset.
It has the effect on an elven population that a
mMilitary coup would have on a human tribe and
its neighbours. It says "I mean buisness - anyone wish to barter?"

Quite how much of this unseating of Faúr'erián is actually true, and what is
propaganda, its really impossible to say. I always felt that it would be true to
the nature of the Lady if perhaps there was a little self propoganda on
Cárimuá's part and that the real events ran closer to common folk lore - for in
setting herself as powerful usurper of tradition and majesty - she sent a
message to her opposite numbers in the Western
Zeiphyr and
Auturian - "Don't turn your back on
me. Don't underestimate me. Listen to what I say and we will get along. The
Quaelhoirhim'uchrá are not insignificant any longer!"

Cárimuá can't have been more than 130 years of age arriving on the throne. In
Quaelhoirhim terms this is young
- late teens perhaps. But, for a Ránn, such an age is practically unheard of.
For what can such a slip of an elfling know?
But her very age and the rumours of her usurping Faúr'erián, must have worked a
very powerful magic upon her neighbours. For
many of her people expected that either the
Quaelhoirhim or the
Tethinrhim would see such a young
leader and take it as an excuse to seize control, but no such event ever came.
One wonders whether Faúr'erián should be given more credit for having a hand in
devising Cárimuá's take over. We undoubtely will never know.

The first 80 years of her reign were therefore relativly uneventful. Cáriumá,
like Faúr'erián, took Salóh to be her seat of
power and things seem to progress quite happily. However, quietly, unnancounced,
history was about to force a nasty shock on all the
Quaelhoirhim.

The tribe, with their fondness for humanity,
have always been, certainly in my eyes, rather quick too take in
human foundlings, especially on the
Elverground, and bring them up as mini-elves.
And of course, just as elves are not
humans with pointy ears, a
human can not be happy pretending to be an
elf. One such foundling was the child who would
be Gorm. While in Elandim, with his parents, he stumbled upon the knowledge that
would set any who was strange among his parents' people heart alight - the
secret to unite all the human tribes. The
whereabouts of Maengolth's Blood!

Caught with the power of being the saviour of his own race, he stole away with
the chalice. And soon the elves missed it, and
feared what reprisals the Gods and the dragons
would bring. And when the the elves of Elandim
noticed it was gone, well - it is safe to say that
Coór's hand of chaos decended. The date was
822b.S.

While the
Quaelhoirhim were busy trying to
chase Wegerand and return the Blood, Cárimuá was begining to make clear to her
people what the theft would mean to the elves.
Many thought she was being sensationalist, but as time dragged on and neither
family nor the Queen of the
Quaelhoirhim herself - Cár'ámn Kardalá - could persuade the boy to return
the goblet, and less encouragingly when he managed to lose his trakers
altogether, the Quealhoirhim'uchrá began to sit up and take notice of their
Queen.

In 820 b.S. word reached the elves that Gorm
was to be coronated! The prophecy of the blood was coming true - and the
elves all remembered what the consequences
would be if the dragons and the Gods found
out! It was in this year that the old simmering conflicts between the three
tribes would be settled once and for all. For there were three Ránn's each with
differing opinions on what should be done, and like bees, if you have more than
one Ránn in a hive...

Ultimatly the choice of what should be done belonged to Cár'ámn Kardalá - for
the boy had belonged to her tribe and the blood been in her people's possession.
Initially she sided with Cárimuá against the
Tethinrhim Ránn, insisting on
sending messengers to Gorm pleading with him to return the Blood, or at least
return to Elving to discuss the issue. To
begin with there was just no response. And then gradually, Cár'ámn's urgent
petitions were met by the slaughtering of her messengers by Viginold
Deresvungen. Cár'ámn Kardalá's attitude was hardening and Cárimuá could feel it.

The Speeches of Cárimuá. In the early 819 b.S. she
delivered a series of three speeches to her own people - her vision of what was
to come, and what they must do to protect themselves. Her third was to spark the
enormous building project that would be Har'leve'them.

"What choices do the humans
leave Cár'ámn Kardalá? What would I do if I were her? I do not know. But to
assassinate, the way they have done to elven
messengers? What difference can there be between
elves and men then? If greater principles
must be upheld then I say uphold them at all times - for I have seen the path
that will be walked if we give even the slightest excuse - and it is a bloody
one. And the blood will pass from every elf,
every race for longer than even the eldest amongst us can see. More leaf falls
perhaps than there has been in all the world so far. I do not dramatise. Blood
will flow, and bloodshed is seldom forgiven, even when it is over. [...]

And neither magic nor forest will be the
retreat and the saftey it has been in the past, for no war will have been so
fully at our tree trunks. We will fight, and we will be undone - for they fight
under one name - we under many. We will defend and be underminded, for their
numbers are greater, and their skills with stone greater. I have watched them in
my youth - set siege to a castle and do nothing more than wait.
Elven kind must unite or it will perish. The
Quaelhoirhim'uchrá will find a new way to make themselves inpeneterable or our
cities too will go the way of the elven
Empire.'

-- Excerpt of Cárimuá's Third Speech as translated by Mairthos Almas, "Changing
the Sarvonian World: The age of Blood" Vol. 1, p. 344. First published 1303.

How much Cárimuá knew of Viginold Deresvungen's assembling of
armies is uncertain, but her forsight proved unnervingly accurate. The
Quaelhoirhim'uchrá began to look for new defenses and found what they were
looking for two days ride up the coast.

Such empassioned speeches were not reserved for her people. Much of the rest of
that year Cárimuá spent in Elving, while her
people quietly diligently enlarged and rebuilt
Salóh - the city she called
Hár'lève'thém (StyráshHár'leve'thém,
meaning lit. "valley stronghold").

Cárimuá spent nearly a year in a battle with her opposite number. She and
Cár'ámn Kardalá fought furiously over the right way to handle the situation at
hand. Cárimuá was absolutly furious that Cár'ámn could even consider
plans to assassinate Gorm, pleading with Elving
not to send an assassin. She argued that if Gorm - who essentially, for the
moment, was innocent of any real harm - was assassinated, it would provide the
best excuse for humans to declare all out war
on the elves. And by her best guess that was
exactly what this Viginold Deresvungen chap wanted.

But if she was honest with herself, what did Cárimuá actually expect
Cár'ámn Kardalá to do? Some paths in life cannot be avoided, they are meant to
be one way or another, and I suspect that Cár'ámn Kardalá's choice was one of
these. But Cárimuá's council must have stayed her hand - it wasn't until 811
that Cár'ámn ran out of patience and options. I am told that relations between
the two queens became so unpleasant during Cárimuá's stay that Cár'ámn Kardalá
actually ordered Carimua to leave Elving and never return. Cár'ámn got her wish,
Cárimuá never did come back to Elandim, but it was a wish that cost her
and her people very dear indeed.

Cárimuá left Elving just after the leaffall
had ended in that year. As she returned she found that the first parts of plans
for Hár'lève'thém (Salóh) had been realised,
with the great inner walls being complete, but there was also now a harbour. If
siege tactics were to be played then the elves
would simply send boats out at night to the South - to
Strata - to bring more supplies. The natural
caves in the limestone rock had also been well utilised. There was a system of
tunnels that now ran both to Elving. Some had
been hollowed out into storerooms, homes, shops - even costal lookouts. The city
that was formerly called Salóh, was now
eminently better prepared for war than anywhere else in the
elven world.

The
Elven Alliance. But Cárimuá wasn't staying. She advised the
Quaelhoirhim'uchrá to abandon their forest and move into
Hár'lève'thém,
stating that she couldn't guareentee their protection. Many
elves took her advise - and labour on the out
parts of the city greatly increase.d Many more
elves refused to leave a breathing forest for a lump of city rock and stayed
put, carefully disguising their treetop homes. She also went to the
Elverground, where
elven farmsteads, being obvious in nature, were
most vunerable. She told elves that they could
stay if they so wished, but that they were welcome in
Salóh if they wanted to leave. Few here heeded
her advice, as most still carried alligence to Cár'ámn Kardalá.

Two months later, early in 818 b.S. and Cariuma was off again. She wouldn't be
back to Salóh for another 6 years. In this
time she forged an alliance - that if the
Quaelhoirhim were attacked - for
what did humans know of
elven tribes, one
elf was much like another to them, that the other
elf tribes would come to their aid and support
them in what ever way they could. First port of call were obviously the
Auturian Woods, and though relations
between the two most powerful elf tribes had
always been strained, on the issue of a human
war both tribes knew standing together was their best, and only chance. Her next
visit was more difficult! For a start, the
Maeverhim looked on her as
"earthburned" and it was only with endless persistance that a few of the tribe
could be persuaded to talk to her. Peaceloving talk of war was quite unheard of,
and totally horrific to them. But if the
Zeiphyr and the
Auturian fell, their forest would be
next under the feet of Deresvungen's army. They were persuaded, after nearly a
year, to be part of any alliance - to perform almost a supply role - to provide
things that the Auturian and the
Zeiphyr ran short on.

And then it was North - first to the Ahrhim,
a tribe the Zeiphyrelves had always left to themselves. The
Ahrhim appeared to know what was to
happen and were grateful to co-ordinate forces. They however, already had their
own arrangements with Eophyrhim, a
drow tribe that Cárimuá had no intention of visiting, and the
Ahrhim were insistent that any alliance
that would be formed with them would also be formed with the
Eophyrhim - not least because they
were a formidable opponent for any army. And hence, Cárimuá was wisked into
Paeleon Forest, and is still the only
Quaelhoirhim elf to have ever met
the drow on their own turf (usually
Quaelhoirhim are politly, but icily and forcefully kept out of the
Eophyrhim's forest). The drow tribe
agreed to the Ránn's alliance and despite many raised eyebrows when she returned
home, they proved a great asset - not least Beringstin
Dimeye, the hunter who fought so viciously at the Annhilation of
Elving.

Less keen were the Jhehllrhim - a
tribe distantly related to the
Quaelhoirhim elf, they wanted nothing to do with the tribe, lest they be
"swallowed whole" by their mother tribe, reintergrated and taken over without
invasion.

This alliance between five tribes was to form the basis of the
High Elven Circle, and while
its purpose since unification has been very different, it is still much the same
alliance as Cárimuá founded all that time ago. She is therefore considered the
first Avá'ránn of the elven people - though she
never bore that title - though her successor did.Home and Home Life.And so Cárimuá
returned home early in the year 811. And the
city she was met with was not the city she had left.
The population had doubled, the walls nearly complete, and surrounded by
enormous moats, it must have been a sight glorious to Cárimuá's
eyes - an enormous building project completed in a decade. Who says
elves are slow and ponderous in their actions?
Cárimuá certainly wasn't.

But Salóh - now
Har'leve'them to everyone except those who live in Elandim - was now a work of
art. Who planned the city is not recorded anywhere, but Cárimuá
chose her workmen well. It was in that day - the most
technologically advanced fortified city in
southern Sarvonia,
possibly in the world and it must have gleamed in the mist and set the Ránn's
heart on fire.

The principle was very simple. Laying siege to it was anything but
easy.The city was now walled by a series of
three concentric city walls, each built on a higher point than the former. To
penetrate the city one must overcome three narrow portcullises - one in each
wall - before reaching the city itself. And of course each wall was built to be
well defended, with slit windows from which elven
archers can pick off offenders coming over the walls or through the
portcullises. Towers gave vantage points, and positions for mages and other
weaponry. Wood was not used in the city's
construction for fear of fire, though the
moats and underground streams that pass under the city provide a natural
extinguisher. The city has been described by military minds of all races through
the ages as simple strategic perfection, and one can not stress the simple scale
of them. Compared to the rather modest sized city the fortifications are simply
enormous.
But why was all this fortification necessary? For a war that hadn't even
happened yet? In the light of hindsight, we can say that Cárimuá
had it dead right, but at the time she must have looked like a lunatic. No other
elven city has much in the way of defense, and
no human city comes close to the imposing site
of Salóh. But in Cárimuá's
mind the answer was basically position. Built at sea level,
Salóh did not have
Elving's advantage of a cliff top location.
It is also built on the very edges of the eastern forest - very much in the open
and exposed, so is not afforded the protection drawn by many
elven settlements from their forests. The other
very important reason is geography. Salóh
dominates the Auturian Valley and the Hár'lève'thém Bay. Strategically it has
always been of the up-most importance to the elves.
Salóh's presence
prevented any great human fleets assembling to
the East of Elving (there was already enough threat of that from
Tarannanor in the West) on
Serphelorian waters and
provided a safe passage for between the
Zeiphyr and
the Auturian Woods, allowing
the Quaelhoirhim and
Tethinrhim to ally and preventing
human sieges cutting communication between the
two tribes. If a war broke out,
Salóh had to hold, or the Alliance would
faulter.

Cárimuá's Relationships.
Cárimuá and her building,
her scaremongering, and her allying with drow brought
much dissent and mistrust for the Ránn. But as is so
often the case, the Ránn it appears, said nothing,
allowing others' propoganda to work for her. Stories
abounded - she was in league
with the Ahrhim to capture the blood
and bring it back to Salóh,
and so dispose of Cár'ámn Kardalá the way she'd seen of Faur'iean.
Others said she was in love with the
Róonn of the drow, and he
with her, and that all those who disagreed with her would be subject to his
fury. And Cárimuá heard the
rumours and laughed. But she said nothing!

For in reality there was only one love in Cárimuá's
life, and true to her parents love, it was contraversial difficult and most of
all it made Cár'ámn Kardalá absolutly furious. For Cárimuá
fell in love with an elf
from Elving - the Nyérmer'rónn of Elandim,
Saolím Car'amn'lón. They had met on her visits to beat some sense into Cár'ámn,
and while their views of the world were very different, time nor politics had
deadened their affection for one another.

Cár'ámn Kardalá dispised their relationship. She had heard the rumours of the
alliance that she had not been invited to join. She knew that the
Alliance included the
Tethenrhim,
the main reason for the splitting of the tribe in the first place, and this fact
must have made her very uneasy. She had presumably also heard rumours about Cárimuá's
supposed plans to unseat her, though there is little evidence to suggest this
was Cárimuá's intention,
despite the events that were to follow. The relations between her most senior
general and the persistant thorn in her side must just have been the last straw.
Cár'ámn Kardalá must have felt incredibly isolated and alone in a war that was
down to the actions of her tribe.

Cár'ámn Kardalá never really trusted the general of her army again from the
moment she found out and their realtionship, which had
been very close until that point, it is said, broke down beyond repair.
Unwilling to accept that Saolím was able to seperate
private emotions and tactical decisions, he
had to accept to lose the only person he had ever
considered as a life mate. And so the relationship
between Cárimuá and Saolím continued, long distance,
the pair barely seeing or speaking to each other for months or years at a time,
but their relationship was as solid as the Tandala Peaks and nothing it seemed
would affect their determination to be together in the end. Cár'ámn Kardalá
turned instead to another - an elf of Northern
Sarvonian descent called Ylpherón'daín ("Dain"
to human academics). Little is known about him
for certain, other than he certainly did exist, and that he led an independent
band of his own people said to have been the best mounted warriors
Caelereth has
ever seen - well at least according to the
Ylfferhim, but that's hardly
suprising. Dain took Saolim's place in the Ránns
affection but found it hard to understand his role from that moment forth - Ránns
favourite and advisor, but not in charge of tactics. It must have been an
incredibly difficult situation for both men, who until that time had gotten
on well as brothers in arms.

And things were only made worse by the completion of
Salóh's
fortification! Cár'ámn Kardalá was less than impressed by the arrival of this
monster in her back yard. She derided it as 'a
human monstrosity' and popular folk lore says that she predicted it would
fall in three days of warfare, 'You can't play
humans at bardice and win', she is reported to have said, 'You must play
them with games to which they have never seen the rules. Only then do you have a
chance. Salóh will
not stand.' The assumption seems totally reasonable,
Elving had
magical defenses, they could make the port disappear,
the real city appeared more fortified than it was and
in terms of military, the Quaelhoirhim
had three great warships and more men that could fight than the
Quaelhoirhim'urchra. But the assumption, history tells us, was wrong!

It is said that it was this lack of communication between the Cár'ámn Kardalá
and her general that contributed to the eventual fall
of Elving - that it led to the
Quaelhoirhim
forces being confused and out manouvered
- some expecting reinforcements from the East, others told that they were to
hold the forest alone. It was a burden that Cár'ámn held heavy in his heart
until the end of his days, true or not, and there is little doubt that it took
the shine off his outward display of affection towardw
Cárimuá, even if it did not
affect his love for her.

The Fall of Elving.Five years after the murdering of Gorm a ruthless assault on the elven
fortresses at Elving, south of the
Zeiphyrian Forests, was initiated
by Viginold Deresvungen. Cár'ámn Kardalá's forces were hopelessly outnumbered,
and even with their greater knowledge of the forest and Dain's favourite and
effective 'hide and seek' style of fighting, it became clear that the
Quaelhoirhim were losing ground
and fast. One moon phase passed and Cárimuá
was becoming alarmed. She had expected a great war, but she had never expected
the Quaelhoirhim resistance to be
squashed decisively so quickly. Cárimuá
activated her alliance and a force of mixed tribes went to
Elving through the tunnels from
Saloh, opening them for the first time since
the tribal split. The forces of different tribes were independent
of each other, but they generally respected Saolím Car'amn'lón's
advice and tactics, so much of the battle was coordinated by him. One exception
was the dark elven faction from the Paelelon,
who have their own, unique way of dealing with 'those of no honour'.
They took their orders from
Beringstin Dimeye who became famous for his ferocious acts and his total
hatred of the human race in general. Cárimuá
did not approve of his motives nor his tactics, but she could not deny that he
got results. Even human tribes, mainly those
which felt oppressed by the
Erpheronian tribe, joined the elves.

The battle lasted for many months and thousands of soldiers of all races died at
the brutal slaughtering, but no army could decide the enormous battle, which
caused terrific destruction among both sides.
Elving was destroyed completely and most parts of the
Zeiphyrian Forests as well as the
adjacent Auturian Woods were burnt.

The battle led to a mass exodus from Elving
as the casualties mounted. Some followed Dain as he followed the last orders a
dying Cár'ámn Kardalá would ever give. Shot through
the chest with a poisoned tipped arrow during a particularly fearsome attack,
she ordered Dain to take the Ionmis globe
and head for the comparative saftey of the far Western forest, beyond the banks
of the Thaehevil.
He took his followers and whoever else wished to follow him and made the
incredibly dangerous dash for the River Thaehevil. He of
course made it!

Aftermath. So who was Ránn now?
- The largest exodus was through the tunnels. Anyone unable to fight went to
Salóh and the city was overrun by residents of
the Western forest. It struggled to cope with its now enormous population, but
Salóh was safe, and there was little doubt in
the Quaelhoirhim's mind who was
responsible. The Quaelhoirhim
were reunited as one tribe under Cárimuá's leadership, and thus what Cár'ámn
Kardalá had feared perhaps all her reigning life, came to pass anyway.

The battle raged on and little progress was made on either side. But
Elving was devestated, nothing more than a
shell, and practically deserted, much of the forest lay smoldering and Cárimuá
made the decision that holding the city was a lost cause. She ordered Saolim to
take everything of use and retreat. Most of the forces went back to
Salóh. Some, ambushed by enemy forces, fled
west and joined the growing encampement of Elvingites in the far part of the
Western forest.

Now Carimua entered the most blessed and the most tortured phase of her life.
Her tribe was reunited, her hard work was paying dividends in that there was at
least some effective and united elven
resistance, and Har'leve'them was doing the job it was built to do. Better
Saolim was at her side at last and she fell pregnant months after the fall of
Elving, giving birth to a daughter, and
eventually she would bear a son also. But Saolim was tortured by his failure, to
Elving and to his Ránn and was deeply
affected by Cár'ámn Kardalá's death. There is no doubt she felt him fall away
from her a little. But, it soon became apparent that this would be the least of
her worries.

Cárimuá and the Ionmis Globe. As the fighting moved
north, Cárimuá sent a messenger to Dain requesting he return the
Ionmis. As Ránn of the
Quaelhoirhim it was her rightful
property. However, Dain was reluctant to return it - he himself was begining to
show a great ability in using it, and he travelled many times to
Salóh, often accompanied by
Neve'nmal, an acomplished and sometimes rather
manipulative diplomat. Cárimuá stood firm however, the
Ionmis was critical to the war effort.
"But", said Neve'nmal, "Where is the evidence that
you can use it? Dain is highly accomplished in a short time. It is as though it
has choosen him." Cárimuá it is said, gentler and more intuitive than
Neve'nmal, proposed a trial. That Dain was to leave
it in her possesion and if she showed no talent for it, then it would be
returned in order that he would keep her informed,
Neve'nmal would stay to monitor her progress. While her skills were limited,
they were enough to justify her possession of the
globe and
Neve'nmal returned home without the globe.
From that time on it was mounted on her cerimonial armour that she might predict
the enemy troop movements.

The Great Floods. But the Cárimuá failed to forsee
either the of several great floods
that would happen in her lifetime, caused by the monstrous deforestation at the
Battle of Elving. The lack of trees meant that heavy rainfall was not
intercepted before reaching the swollen
Thaehevil. The flooding destroyed the ailing centre of the Western Forest,
and the second of them severed the small fragment of the remaining far Western
forest from the Zeiphyr - the two
forests seperated by open ground by several days ride.

Accepting that such performance was unacceptable, she returned the
globe to Dain, with the condition that he
would send some of his troops to join her own in re-enforcing the
Ahrhim. Dain took the
Ionmis, but told the Ránn that he could
not send troops, because he had seen the suffering of the refugees that had fled
to the Western forest and dreamt the blood that would flow for hundreds of
years. He would not see them go through any more pain or discomfort. Hadn't
Cárimuá told Cár'ámn Kardalá to find another way but war. "It is time", he told
Cárimuá, "that you find another way." Carimua accepted Dain's decision but
wasn't happy about it - she must have felt a little as Cár'ámn Kardalá must have
done when Faur'ien led the Quaelhoirhim'uchra away from her power.

The Independency of the
Ylfferhim.
Here was a far away place, full of her subjects, yet she could do nothing for
them and excert no power over them. From this moment on she could have been in
little doubt as to what would happen next. In 760 b.S. Dain finally declared the
Ylfferhim independent - and
Neve'nmal sent to declare the news to Har'leve'them.
Cárimuá barely blinked. She simply registered suprise it had taken so long.
After all, she told Neve'nmal, what good is a Ránn
who cannot see her people, nor commuicate with them, nor help them. "We are kin
you and I," said Carimua. "Let our tribes remain kin, though our names be
different." And so it was that the
Ylfferhim became independent and pulled out of the war. They would not fight
another war for some 700 years.

Unrest was also growing and deepening at home. Spurred on by the independence of
the Ylfferhim, those
elves that wished to belong to
Tethinrhim renewed their efforts,
their aim to drive the new Ránn back to Elving,
affiliating their forest to the
Tethinrhim. Salóh had become squalid and
unbearably overcroweded, while the reconstruction of
Elving into something that was partway safe,
defendable and liveable, was going slowly and hindered by constant assaults
launched from Tarannoar in the West.

Cárimuá's End. For some three years the rumours of
threats to Cárimuá's life echoed around the city like a voice from a sea cliff.
To begin with Cárimuá took the threats seriously and acted on Saolim's prudent
advice, keeping a low profile and rarely leaving her chambers. With two small
children and a tribe to care for, it wasn't difficult. But after a while it
seems she became indifferent to the threats - she'd always been a hands on kind
- not one to sit back and have others do her bidding and began to ignore
Saolim's advice. Perhaps she felt she couldn't hide away her whole life in a
building made of stone, perhaps she felt responsible for all the people
suffering within the city walls and hiding away from them must have smaked of
rank and hipocracy to her!

She picked up her normal routine once again, but it was to her cost. She was
found dead in the city Gardens which had become more of a refugee camp.
According to lore, she was stabbed in the back, an ironic end for one who had
been accused of this metaphorically several times in her life. What appears
likely is that her death (dates vary, but it is thought that Cárimuá died
sometime between 750 and 748 b.S) was a politically motivated one. Perhaps
Deresvungen hoped that her removal would undo the alliance she had forged.
Without her leadership holding such diverse factions together that resistance
would shatter and that this would present the
human side with the opportunity they needed to win the war. Perhaps the
Eastern Rebels hoped that her death would result in the
Tethinrhim Ránn taking control of
the Eastern forest, the way that Cár'ámn Kardalá had made Cárimuá 'Rann, or
perhaps they simply saw it as the surest sign of their power. Or perhaps it was
simply the act of someone or some organisation that was unhappy with her
handling of the fall of Elving, there are
rumours that Cár'ámn Kardalá blamed her for the fall of the
Quaelhoirhim capital.

Whatever the motive, her death probably had the opposite affect. Death of a Ránn
at such a young age and in such a violent manner outside of the battlefield is
unheard of in Quaelhoirhim
history before or since. The people were shocked and horrified at such an act.
It united the Quaelhoirhim tribe
behind what she had stood for as they mourned her, and in less than a decade all
Eastern Resistance had died out. Her death did not shake the alliance either.
Saolim summoned all the tribes of the alliance and bid them choose a leader,
someone to act as chairperson as Cárimuá had done, which they duely did, and
titled her Avá'ránn in honour both of the Dreamer
and of She who was first among all elves, the
High Avá'ránn. Lore has it that Saolim's parting
words to the council were simply this: "Be united in all things. While you are a
life will not have passed onto the next in vain." The Alliance that Cárimuá
forged went on to become the High
Elven Council and it survives to this day - the Avá'ránn representing the
most respected among the elven Nation, and
advisor to the human King of
Santharia.

Importance.
Cárimuá, as the
first Ránn of the
Quaelhoirhim,
uniting the Eastern and Western forests,
was far from flawless: ambitious, rumoured to be stubborn and dogmatic, fearful
when angry and manipulative, but it is these qualities which also made her among
the most celebrated of the
Quaelhoirhim. Her ambition and self assured nature
led her to try things that others did not have the nerve to. Being she was
stubborn and dogmatic, but she was also likely to have been charming and
charismatic. She was manipulative too, certainly, but she could manipulate
situations to her advantage because she understood not only her own people but
other tribes and races well enough to pre-empt their reaction. This was her
greatest gift, her forsight, based not on magic
- perhaps this is why the Ionmis never
truely functioned for her - but on her understanding of the mechanation of the
mind and the heart. Those talents ensure that while our knowledge of the Lady
herself remains shrouded in legend and rumour, her greatest achievements stand
proudly today for all of Caelereth. And I
suspect that would make Cárimuá very happy indeed!